Precious Things
by AWriterOfSomeThings
Summary: Unable to sleep, Yuuki decides to game until she's tired. However, things take a turn for the interesting when she checks her friends list and finds that a certain someone is also online. Oneshot.


**A/N: Hey, everyone! I'm back with another Klein and Yuuki centric oneshot. I hope you all enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I own not the world of Sword Art Online, nor any of the characters that exist within. I like writing disclaimers :D**

* * *

Yuuki sat up. Sure, she might be in a virtual world, but that didn't mean she didn't need sleep like everyone else! The virtual world emulated the real one. If one refused to sleep in this world, fatigue and exhaustion would kick in. Personally, she enjoyed that feature, it made the experience feel so much more real.

However, the problem was that she was unable to fall asleep. She had been laying awake for hours now, the reasons why unknown to her. In fact, she didn't even feel sleepy in the slightest. She tried to sleep due to the fact that it was late. Her and her friends, both new and old, had been gaming into the wee hours of the night. Now, it was time to sleep... But, she was unable to sleep at all.

'I might as well game until I'm tired...' she thought, selecting the game title, 'ALfheim Online', and logging in.

* * *

Yuuki lifted her hand, using two fingers to drag down the open air, causing the menu to suddenly appear. She navigated to her friends list, curious if any of her friends were online. She doubted it though, they all expressed their desire to log out and sleep long ago. But there was still a chance someone remained awake, caught in a similar situation as her.

Yuuki tilted her head to the side, confused by what she saw in her friends list. None of the gang were online, except one... Klein. The reason for her confusion was due to the fact that Klein had been the first of them to log off, with his reason being that he had to work earlier tomorrow than usual, thus, he needed to get some sleep. Yet, he was online still?

"Well, I suppose I can go and ask him what's up..." she muttered.

If he ended up not having to work tomorrow, then she figured they could play together. A thought that brought a smile to her face- not because she was super excited to play with Klein or anything like that -but simply because playing with other people, instead of alone, was always much more fun... at least it was to her.

After checking his location, she found he was at an inn. She figured he was probably drinking at the bar, something he normally did. Now knowing where he was located, she started off in the direction of the inn.

* * *

Sitting at the bar, Klein's eyes remained shut as he took a sip from his cup. He pushed the environment away from him, remaining alone in the darkness of his own creating, bringing back to him the familiar feeling of isolation. As long as his eyes were shut, he could remain in this pitch black world full of peace... and loneliness.

There was nothing he needed in this moment. Well, there was one thing he thought would be nice. It wasn't a necessity, of course, but rather, it was a desire. He thought it would be nice if there was one who could accompany him in this lonely world of his.

Ah, but perhaps it would be too cruel to invite anyone to such a world as his.

Klein let out a sigh. This was still fine.

Suddenly, Klein's world shook. He cringed at the trembling world. Something was attempting to destroy the barrier separating him from the world outside his.

His world shook again, and with the trembling, came a familiar voice. The words were so distant that he was unable to understand their meaning. Thus, he was just left with a voice that felt so familiar. A voice that felt so warm. A voice that made his heart ache, and threatened to spill tears from his eyes.

His world shook for a third time, and with this third tremble, he made out one word the familiar voice shouted to him; what he heard was, "Klein!", what he heard was his name.

Why was this voice calling his name? Why did the voice sound so familiar? And why did the voice bring him such happiness, yet... also bring him such overwhelming pain? Why was he unable to remember? It felt so very important. It felt like something which must never be forgotten. What was it?

Then... his mind cleared, leaving only one thing to float through it...

* * *

"Hello, Klein!" Yuuki called out as she shook him by the shoulder.

His face tightened at her actions.

Seeing that that was all he had done in response, she frowned. He was definitely ignoring her presence, bringing a bit of annoyance to her.

"Hey, Klein, what are you doing!" she called out again, giving him another shake.

This time, she didn't notice any change. This brought a bit more annoyance to her, as she saw it a sign that she made less progress than last time. And with that thought, she let out a groan of displeasure.

"Klein, wake up!" she said slightly louder than her previous calls, shaking him for a third time.

She waited. Nothing seemed to happen. She let out a sigh, reaching her arm out to his shoulder to give him another shake. However, before her hand could reach him, Klein suddenly sat straight, causing her to give a small jump in surprise over the sudden action.

She opened her mouth to scold him, however, before she could speak, something escaped Klein's lips, causing her to pause in slight confusion. Klein said... something. His voice felt... sad? She wasn't sure why.

"Yuuki?" Klein questioned as he turned his face to her.

"Hey, Klein!" she greeted with a cheerful smile. "Why are you online?"

Hearing her question, Klein's eyes widened for a brief second, before he forced his expression back to normal.

"Uh... couldn't sleep." Klein answered, putting on a smile of his own.

"Really?" Yuuki hummed in suspicion, narrowing her eyes at him. She cupped her chin with one hand, and held her elbow with the other. She studied his face, as if she were trying to decide whether he was lying or not.

Klein felt several beads of sweat form on his face, briefly dwelling on the thought of an in-game system that allowed sweat to form when he was nervous, it did bring more realism to the game. He tried his best to keep his smile looking as natural as possible, but he could tell it was starting to look quite nervous and suspicious.

Just as Klein felt he was going to break, Yuuki suddenly shouted out, "Okay, cool!" Completely dropping her suspecting expression, and wearing her normal cheerful one.

Klein's eyes slightly widened at her words. He was caught off guard by her sudden change in demeanor. But once he managed to calm down, he let out a relieved sigh.

"So, since you're awake, wanna play with me!?" she asked with hopeful eyes.

Klein suppressed a snicker at the perverted interpretation his mind put behind her words.

"Sorry," he began, closing his eyes and folding his arms, "I was actually getting sleepy right before you showed up, and I was planning to go get some sleep soon."

"Aw, really?" she whined. "Then I guess it can't be helped."

Yuuki was about to turn and leave when she heard the bartender say to some person, "Sorry, but that man got the last room."

Yuuki looked up to see the bartender pointing at someone. She followed his finger, tracing a straight line directly to the back of Klein's head.

Klein mentally cursed when he heard the bartender's words, as well as when he felt his finger pointing at him. Klein also knew Yuuki heard what the bartender said, and he could see her following his finger back to him. Klein could only sit there with a smile on his face, hoping it looked natural.

After following the line back to Klein, Yuuki brought her eyes back to his. When their eyes met, she slowly raised a brow, like she was asking him to explain what was going on.

Klein just sat in silence, acting as if nothing happened.

Minutes went by with neither of them speaking, before Yuuki decided to break the silence.

"So, we just gonna pretend neither of us heard that?"

"Heard what?" Klein asked, playing dumb.

"You don't really think that actually works, right?"

"I'm sure I don't know what it is you're talking about."

"Klein," irritation was present in her voice, and she was very clearly annoyed at his feigning ignorance, "You said you were about to log out to get some sleep, but this guy," she pointed at the bartender, "is saying you rented a room here. What gives!?"

"I mean, I never said I was logging out..." Klein muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What does that mean?" She placed a hand on her hip.

Klein looked away from her, hiding his expression.

"Klein?"

He remained still, not making any reaction to her voice.

"Klein!?" she pushed harder.

He suddenly stood up, causing her to jump back in surprise.

"It's none of your business!" He turned, walking to the stairs.

Shaking her head to dispel her surprise at his actions, she called after him, "Hey, Klein!" But he ignored her and kept walking up the stairs.

She ran up the stairs, following after him. She reached the upstairs area in time to see him enter his room and shut the door. She ran up to his door, trying to turn the knob, however, the door wouldn't open. Klein, being the temporary owner of this room, was the only one with permission to open it.

"Klein!" she yelled out, knocking on the door.

No response.

"Klein, open the door!" She continued to bang on the door.

He still didn't respond.

"Klein, just tell me what's going on!"

"Just go away already!" he finally responded.

"Let me in so we can talk!"

"Not interested!" She folded her arms and groaned in annoyance at his words.

She started racking her brain, trying to come up with a way to get him to open the door. It took a few minutes, but she did finally come up with a plan.

"Klein, open the door." she said gently, a soft smile hanging on her lips.

"You're still here!? I'm not opening the door, so you might as well just leave!"

"Okay, I guess I'll just have to tell Asuna, Kirito, and the others about this, so they can help me figure out what's going on." It was a bluff, she wasn't really going to tell anyone anything.

Klein remained silent at her response.

'It didn't work?' she thought. 'I really thought that would work...'

Yuuki let out a defeated sigh. If that didn't work, she didn't know what would.

With nothing else she could think to do, she started to turn around to leave. But, before she could turn away, the door suddenly opened.

"Get in." Klein used his thumb to point behind him as he spoke.

Yuuki didn't move, she remained frozen, stunned by the sudden actions.

"Oh, just get in already." Klein reached down, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the room. Ignoring whatever this may look like to any bystanders there might have been, he shut the door.

Klein walked over to the bed, sitting down on the edge.

Yuuki, having regained her bearings, grabbed the chair in front of the desk, placed it across from Klein, and took a seat.

"So, what's going on?" Yuuki repeated her unanswered question. She sounded a bit... worried?

He remained silent, throwing her question around his mind. 'What's going on?', such a simple question, yet, one which had no easy answer.

He lifted his head, turning his eyes to her form. She sat there in silence, patiently waiting for his answer. The look she gave him seemed to tell him to take his time, to answer when he was ready, while at the same time showing worry for him. The warmth of this look she gave him, the expressions she showed, the way she sat, all of it... it felt painfully familiar to him.

He shook his head, removing such thoughts from his mind. There was no need for them.

"Nothing's going on." Klein stated, breaking his silence.

"Eh!?" Yuuki cried out, confused by his answer. "Then why are you sleeping in here?"

"Because I wanted to, it's as simple as that."

"Because you want to?" Her demeanor changed at his answer. First, she was shocked, stunned by it. Then, she was angry. "That's your answer!?" she threw her arms up as she yelled.

"Yes, it is my answer." he responded, annoyed with her reaction.

"Because you want to!?" Yuuki clenched her fists, she could feel the anger in her rising as she spoke. "A reason like that," But why was she getting angry? She didn't understand. "Is why you aren't sleeping out there!?" Why did it matter to her though? Why did it bother her so much? "You don't have to sleep in this world, but you wanted to!" Anger, anger, so much anger. She wasn't sure why she was so upset.

"Do you know how many people would love to escape this world!?" She was completely taken aback by those words she blurted out.

'So that's why I was...?'

The reason for her anger, the reason it bothered her, it was because she was forced to live in this world. She had been in the virtual world for three years, and in those three years, she had mostly forgotten what the real world was like. She would love the chance to freely go between the two worlds, just as all her friends did. That's why she was upset. For Klein, who had nothing keeping him in this world 24/7, to choose to sleep in here instead of out there, it hurt.

Klein let out a quiet, bitter laugh, bringing her attention back to him.

"Of course I know many people would have loved to escape this world." His eyes shone with sadness as he spoke. "And I know how many didn't get to."

"Klein?"

He brought his eyes back to meet her's. She was confused, he could see that, but he could also see the gentleness in her eyes, the care in them... the warmth.

"Yuuki... I... lost some things. Some very, very precious things." He fought back any tears that wanted to escape. "That's why I'm sleeping in this world. Because it helps me feel closer to those precious things." He gave her a soft smile.

"Something precious... do you mean... Ayaka?"

Klein's eyes widened when he heard that name.

"H-how... how do you know that name?"

"Earlier in the bar, you mumbled that name when I woke you."

"Ah, I did?" Klein's head dropped down, turning his vision to the floor. "I'm usually more careful than that..."

A hand was placed on his shoulder. He cast a quick glance to the hand, then to the one the hand came from.

Yuuki had abandoned her seat, now crouching in front of Klein, bringing their heads to an even level. Her hand rested on his shoulder as their eyes met.

"Klein, it's alright." She tilted her head to the side, giving him a bright smile.

When he saw her smile, a memory flashed through his mind. A memory of a different time, a different place, a different person, yet, the same actions, the same words, and the same smile.

"I know how it feels to lose someone special. And I know how it feels when you find something that makes you feel closer to them." Though she still wore her bright smile, her voice was laced with sadness.

"Yuuki...?" Klein's voice reflected the gentleness and concern that Yuuki's had shown multiple times for him. However, before Klein could say anything more, Yuuki pulled him into a hug.

He hesitated for a moment, before wrapping his arms around her.

"I don't know what's right." she said softly. "I don't know if you should live like this. I don't know if I should scold you, or support you. I don't know what to do."

"I don't know either, Yuuki."

She let out a weak chuckle, "So, I guess we're both useless."

"It would appear so." he answered back, giving a weak chuckle of his own.

Yuuki pulled back, quickly wiping one of her eyes, hoping she was fast enough Klein didn't see anything. However, she wasn't fast enough, as Klein had just barely seen her hand move away from her eye. And though he didn't see anything, he could guess the reason for the action. Of course, since she was obviously trying to hide it from him, he wasn't going to let it be known that he knew.

"Well, I should be going, you need to get some sleep for tomorrow." She stood up, turned to the door, and started walking.

Klein lay down on his bed, throwing on arm over his eyes.

Yuuki stopped when she reached the door, turning her head slightly.

"Klein," Hearing her speak, Klein lifted his head to look at her. "I don't know if this is the right thing to say, but it's what my heart is telling me to say... I hope you can live, Klein!" With those final words, she turned the knob, opened the door, and exited the room.

Klein stayed frozen, watching the empty space she once occupied, thinking on her words. After a few moments, he let out a sigh, rolling onto his side and closing his eyes.

"Why does she keep saying the same things as you...?" he muttered.

* * *

The clouds hid the face of the moon, leaving Klein to stand in the darkness alone. The street lamps a distance away were his only source of light. There was no one with him, he was completely alone in this dark world. This world almost as dark as his.

"Looks like I lost you again," he muttered.

He turned and walked off, leaving behind the stone he stood before.

The clouds parted, allowing the moon to show its light to this dark world. The light hit the stone, casting away the darkness surrounding it, and revealing characters carved into it. The characters revealed a name, and the name would serve to reveal a past to those who knew it. The name...

Konno Yuuki.

* * *

 **A/N: So, um... after writing this... I think I kind of ship Klein and Yuuki... That's not wrong, right!? I mean, I probably only ship the version of Klein I created in this story with her.**

 **I hope they didn't feel out of character to you guys. As usual, Yuuki is really hard to write for. However, I think that some of the supposed differences to their personality just comes from the situation my story places them in. I know Yuuki getting upset was kind of ooc (not that getting upset is ooc of her, but getting upset at how someone chooses to live their lives is), but I tried to explain the reason she was upset in the story. I even had Yuuki acknowledge that it was weird for her to be getting upset about it. However, if any of you disagree with that choice, then I'm sorry. I thought it was a good idea, so I did that.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the story! I'll most likely write more stories focusing on these two, but I probably won't be doing that anytime soon. I still need to finish the next chapter for my AoT and AgK crossover, write the next chapter for my Batman and RWBY crossover, and write more oneshots for the Ren and Neo pairing before future volumes of RWBY make it nearly impossible to write for them.**


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